A common manufacturing operation involves the sealing of deformable material such as plastic or vinyl sheeting. Such sealing may be accomplished through the use of a radio frequency (RF) sealing press or, more traditionally, with a heat sealing press. Typically, following the sealing process, there remains a portion of scrap material or "flashing" along the sealed edge. This flashing is preferably removed prior to delivering the article being manufactured to the next manufacturing operation.
In the manufacture of loose-leaf binders for instance, vinyl sheets are sealed about cardboard inserts to form a rigid cover for the binder. The flashing that remains following the sealing process preferably should be removed from the binder cover before the cover is delivered to its next stage of manufacture. The flashing has traditionally been removed manually by gripping an edge of the flashing and lifting it from the rigid binder. Since the seal substantially cuts through the vinyl sheeting, the flashing is weakened and easy to remove. Although a simple process, this method of removing the flashing depends upon the employment of manual labour. The efficiency of the flashing removal operation tends to be limited by the mundane nature of the task, as well as other inefficiencies associated with employing manual labour as opposed to utilizing automated technology.
It is therefore desirable that an automated apparatus be provided to perform the flashing removal operation. This apparatus should provide a simple and efficient means for removing the flashing. Preferably, the apparatus should be adaptable to be used in association with other automated technology.